E967: What 130,000 A/B tests reveal about why websites fail to convert - even when they look polished and professional.

Sahil Patel, CEO of Spiralyze, joins the show. We talk through the most common CRO mistakes companies make across SaaS, B2B, and service businesses, including why stock photos reduce conversions, how landing pages lose high-intent buyers, and what small teams can do immediately to improve results without expensive tools.

Sahil also explains practical testing frameworks, real case studies, and counterintuitive lessons from years of running experiments on high-traffic websites.

If you get traffic but struggle to turn that traffic into demos, leads, or revenue, this conversation focuses on the fundamentals that actually move the needle.

Topics covered: - Why stock photos consistently lower conversion rates - The "one-second test" to diagnose weak homepages - Hook → mirror → ladder messaging and how it applies to SEO and ads - Why video often cannibalizes conversions in the hero section - How to design landing pages for high-intent visitors - Email + CTA technique and commitment escalation psychology - The mistake of optimizing for low-intent users - CRO experiments that produced surprising results - Why most companies run tests that are too small to matter - Simple CRO improvements that don't require testing software - Social proof strategies that actually increase trust - Where animation hurts conversion and when it can help - CRO tools startups can use to run experiments themselves

We also discuss how sales friction impacts conversion, why buyers don't want to be reminded they're entering a sales process, and how companies unintentionally create barriers for ready-to-buy customers.

⭐️ Sahil Patel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahilanamipatel/ ⭐️ Sahil Patel's agency, Spiralyze: https://www.spiralyze.com/ ⭐️ Sahil Patel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-M25FDI8NwI1pj_UxrYzHQ ⭐️ Playlist for CRO Crimes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhH2EfUApERQNovfcPen5zv9H299xthPU&si=nbdNXNrtPtwqViT0

💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/

00:00 CRO Testing Credibility 00:15 Show the Product 01:24 Car Ad Stock Photo Analogy 03:24 Data on Stock Photos 04:30 SEO Landing Page Mistakes 06:38 One Second Test 09:53 Hook Mirror Ladder 14:05 Video Kills Conversions 18:13 VSL Placement Debate 25:54 Email Plus CTA Trick 28:45 Email First Demo CTA 29:34 Nurture Or Remarketing 30:28 Sales Led Vs Product Led 31:43 Stop Forcing Human Calls 34:10 Optimize For High Intent 40:05 Big Swing CRO Testing 44:40 Tools And Low Hanging Fruit 49:11 Service Fusion Case Study 51:45 Social Proof That Works 55:01 Wrap Up

The Edward Show. The #1 digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#conversionrateoptimization #landingpageoptimization #growthmarketing #digitalmarketing